


A Smile

by ClockworkDinosaur (orphan_account)



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Angst, Gen, Turn Back the Clock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 14:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6961780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ClockworkDinosaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the automatons find an orphaned child after World War II, their lives are changed forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very heavily re-written version of a fic I wrote a while ago. The original fic was only about 700 words. Let's hope that adds quality along with quantity, hm?  
> I took some liberties with the story that's told in Turn Back The Clock, but I tried to stick as close to it as possible.

The silence of the empty yard was broken only by the heavy metallic footfalls of the three robots as they surveyed the desolate camp. The prisoners had all been freed, and were in the process of being reunited with their families and sent home.

Promises of home and family and familiarity didn’t ease the empty eyes that endless memories of long-endured horrors played behind, though.

The three automatons, one tall and silver, another a bit shorter and copper, and the last shortest and gold, trekked toward the now-empty sleeping-house, a glorified prison with cold concrete walls and floors, barred windows not stopping the harsh chill that blew through. The tallest one went in first, his green optics illuminating the room where thin mattresses lay on the dirty floor. Fleeting thankfulness for the lack of a sense of smell went through the golden robot’s head as he glanced over an old gore stained mattress.

The copper robot, mismatched photo-receptors wide in the gloom, made a strangled noise of surprise and pointed to a dirty bundle between two blood-soaked mattresses.

A small hand grasped at the air from within the bundle.

The copper robot ran, nearly tripping over the mattresses, to the small bundle. A toddler, barely strong enough to wave an arm, peered out, brown eyes wide.

“Is it…?” the silver automaton trailed off, staring into the brown eyes that stared at each robot in turn. They were silent, staring at the small human in awe.

The toddler smiled.

* * *

“Is this your child?” the golden robot asked the next day to any refugee that would speak, in every language he knew. Several simply shook their heads. A few said “no” blankly. Many stared off into the distance, staring through the automaton and the child in his arms. Still, he asked everyone.

After weeks, the robots stopped looking. The toddler’s parents couldn’t be found. She was an orphan, another tragedy of war.

And though none of the automatons would admit it, they were relieved that the small child would be returning home to America with them.

* * *

The toddler slept in the copper bot’s arms, her golden ringlets falling over the US Army uniform as the odd group got on the plane home. Stares followed the group as they sat in their seats.

“You know,” the silver automaton spoke as the plane ascended, “we never found out her name.”

“Julia,” the copper automaton said without hesitation.

Nobody disagreed.

* * *

Once the automatons and Julia were home at Walter Manor, Mark Walter wasted no time in having a room set up for the quiet child. She took in her new room, the soft lavender crib and soft white walls and lace curtains, with wide eyes.

“How old is she?” Mark asked, watching the girl cradled in Rabbit's arms as she took in her surroundings.

“The doctors said she's about three,” The Spine replied. “Without knowing who her parents are though, nobody was sure.”

Mark tilted his head. “That means she was probably born in that... place. She's never had a room of her own,” he pointed out.

Rabbit wasn't sure what heartbreak really felt like, but she assumed the feeling that shot through her core came close.

* * *

As the years passed, Julia grew from a near-silent toddler into a curious child. She was often seen in out-of-the-way rooms of the manor, looking through old boxes and books for new and exciting things to play with and study. She was often shadowed by one of the robots, who kept tabs on her to make sure she wasn't hurt or lost.

One day, she decided to make a game of it. When she noticed The Spine following her, she ducked down one of the servant’s hallways with a giggle, heading down into the manor's basements.

She made her way through the archway at the bottom of the stairs and looked around, her eyes adjusting to the gloom. She had never been so far beneath the manor, and curiosity overcame her hesitation as she wandered down the hall.

Endless, empty workshops were on either side of her, dusty and rusted tools still laying on tables and workbenches as if waiting for an inventor to pick up their work where they left off. Julia wandered for a few more minutes, but the silent hallway seemed endless. With a sigh, she turned around.

The doorways on either side of her looked identical. With growing panic, she realized she didn't remember which one she had come through. Heart pounding, she ran back down the hallway, glancing into each room with terrified eyes. The gray walls blended into each other and the floor was cold underneath her feet. In her panicked mind, another endlessly gray room flashed in her memory, one that she only remembered in nightmares. A scream tore its way out of her throat as she tripped, scraping her knees and palms on the rough floor, smearing blood on the cold gray cement. She laid there sobbing as heavy footfalls quickly approached from behind.

She found herself in The Spine's arms, his boiler bubbling loudly as he rocked her back and forth.

“You're okay, Julia, it's okay,” he murmured softly, his deep voice reverberating through his chassis as Julia shook in his arms.

“I d-don't like this hallway, I don't wanna remember the bad place,” she sobbed into his vest. The Spine stood, still rocking her gently as he went up the stairs.

“It's okay, you don't have to go back. You're okay. You're safe.”

She never returned to the basement workshops.

* * *

Nobody knew when Julia's real birthday was, so they decided to celebrate the day that she came to live in Walter Manor. Her twelfth birthday was quickly approaching, and Rabbit decided to do her best to make is as special as possible. She hung streamers from the trees near the lake on manor grounds, on the opposite side from the graveyard. She brought chairs and tables from inside and set them down in the clearing, before the sun rose and Julia woke up.

Julia woke up excited, the sunlight filtering through her lace curtains as she sat up. She loved her birthday, and excitement sent her jumping from her bed and toward the kitchen. Her feet pattered excitedly as she ran down the hallway, barging into the room where the robots, Rabbit and The Jon in particular, usually spent their morning eating despite their many instructions against doing so.

The room was empty. Julia's eyebrows pulled together as she stood in the quiet room. She wandered from the room, confused. It was her birthday, where was her family? She wandered towards the back of the house and glanced out the window.

Her face broke out into a grin as she noticed the brightly colored paper that twisted in the breeze. With boundless excitement, she ran out the back door and into the yard, the grass soft on her her bare feet. The three automatons watched her approach with wide smiles.

“Happy birthday!” they called, and Julia ran into them, hugging them tightly.

A few of the workers and engineers made their way to the early-morning party, some with hastily wrapped gifts for Julia, which she lined up eagerly. She and the bots played games in the sunlight, and Julia took a swim in the lake until she got bored of that and joined the bots again. At noon, a cake was brought out and was cut and distributed to human and automaton alike, even The Spine taking a slice.

Julia couldn't have wished for a better day.

As the party wound down, Rabbit pulled Julia aside for a moment, her copper face eager as she held out a beautifully wrapped box.

“It t-t-took me a few tried to get it right, but I wrapped it myself,” she said proudly. Julia hugged the tall automaton quickly before carefully unwrapping the gift and opening the box. Inside, a music box sat, the deep brown wood and intricately carved sides seeming to glow in the late afternoon sunlight. She set the package on the ground and studied the music box intently.

“It's so pretty...” she breathed, opening the tiny box. Inside, a metal and porcelain ballerina spun, her arms raised elegantly as she twirled to the music that came from inside.

“Happy birthday, Julia,” Rabbit said with a smile as the girl watched the music box, entranced.

“Thank you, Rabbit!” she said, closing the music box and throwing her arms around the robot.

Her already magical day had become perfect.

* * *

Growing up in the Walter family gave Julia a love for engineering, and she learned quickly. As she grew into her teen years, she began helping more and more until she was officially made a Walter Technician. She tagged along to every show the band performed, tuning them up before shows and making sure they didn't break down on-stage. Occasionally she had to perform emergency repairs, the crowd watching her with interest and slight concern as she quickly fixed the automaton band.

Nothing made her more proud than repairing her own family when they needed it, and from their encouragement bloomed a deep interest in mechanics.

* * *

 

Rabbit always kept Julia in her line of sight while she performed. War-time memories could quickly transform the cheers of the crowd into the screams of soldiers as they fell around her in battle, the bright stage lights almost as blinding as falling bombs that sent shrapnel and fire reaching with deadly hands toward her and her brothers.

But Julia's warm brown eyes, her shining curls, and her bright smile kept Rabbit in the present. She was safe, her brothers were safe, and Julia was safe. Rabbit sang, and everything was okay.

* * *

As Julia went from a teen to an adult, she fell in love. Rabbit teased her, her freckled face flushing red as Rabbit asked her about her love.

“Okay, Julia, you c-c-can date him... on _one_ condition,” Rabbit said one day as the two sat on the stairs outside of the manor, Julia soaking in the spring sunshine while Rabbit watched the clouds cross the sky. Julia raised her eyebrows.

“Rabbit, I _am_ an adult now, I can date who I please.”

Rabbit scoffed. “Nah, you're y-y-young still. You can date him... _but_ we need to meet him soon,” Rabbit said with a decisive nod.

Julia bit her lip. She hadn't told him that her family consisted mostly of robots and engineers. Though they had met in her college engineering course, he didn't know of the eccentric Walter family. She was certain he wouldn't take it badly or think she was strange, but she was still nervous.

After a moment, Julia nodded. “Alright, Rabbs. I'll bring him over this weekend.”

  
  


She brought her boyfriend to the manor shyly, introducing him to her strange and mechanical family. He took it in stride, shaking hands with human and automaton alike as they sat in the living room.

“So, Eric... If you hurt Julia I'm g-g-gonna set you on fire,” Rabbit said pleasantly as she, Julia and her boyfriend, and the other two automatons chatted. Julia went pale.

Eric nodded seriously. “I would never do such a thing, but if I inadvertently do hurt her, I give you full permission to do so.”

Rabbit beamed. “I l-l-like you, Eric. I approve.” Julia let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The rest of the afternoon went on much more normally, and when Eric left that evening, Julia had never felt more in love.

* * *

 

A few months after she graduated from college, Julia cornered Rabbit in one of the hallways.

“I need to talk to you for a few minutes,” she said, nearly vibrating with excitement. Rabbit followed behind her curiously as she led her into one of the rarely-used sitting rooms.

“Rabbit... Eric asked me to marry him today,” Julia said, nearly squealing with delight, her golden curls bobbing in her ponytail as she bounced. Rabbit's eyes widened, a surprised grin growing on her copper face as Julia took her hands.

“G-g-gosh, Julia! I'm so happy for-or-or you!” Rabbit said, her grin wavering as oil leaked from her eyes. “You're all gr-gr-grown up now, ah geez...” she said, but she still grinned through her tears.

“Don't cry Rabbs, you're going to make me cry!” Julia laughed, though her eyes were beginning to water as well. “I just... I can't believe it! Oh Rabbit, I'm so happy!”

“I'm so happy for you, Jules.” Rabbit sniffed.

* * *

 

As the wedding came and went, the automatons helped Julia pack her things away, boxes stacked and ready to go to her new home that she and Eric would share. She looked at her bare room, the only things that remained were the old bed frame and the slightly-yellowed lace curtains.

“You're gonna come back and visit us, right? Come to some shows and stuff?” The Jon asked from behind her, his blue eyes wide and sad in his gold face.

“Of course I will. We're only going to be a few hours away,” Julia assured him as she pulled the robot into a tight hug.

“I'm gonna miss you, is all.” the robot sniffled.

“I'll miss you too. You and The Spine and Rabbit and everyone else.” Julia's eyes began to water and she blinked back the tears as best as she could. She knew her crying would only make The Jon cry harder, and she wanted to keep their goodbyes as happy as possible. She took the robot's gold hand in her own and pulled him out into the hallway.

“Come on, The Jon. We'll wait with the others while Eric pulls his car out front.”

* * *

 

“Is she here tonight?” Rabbit asked, as she always did before a show. The Spine looked at her sympathetically.

“Julia is very busy, Rabbit, you can't expe-” The Spine started before The Jon cut him off with a shout.

“She's out there! She's got something too, and Eric's there! She dyed her hair I think, it's black now and she looks super pretty! ” he babbled excitedly. Rabbit grinned widely.

The band got in position as the curtain raised, the stage lights bright and glinting off of the metal musicians as they whirred to life and begin their performance.

Rabbit met Julia's warm brown eyes and the woman waved ecstatically, the brightest smile on her face. Rabbit felt happiness swell in her core as she began to sing.

The show went amazingly, and Rabbit was the first one off stage and into the crowd as soon as she was able. Julia watched her approach with a wide grin but held her hand up before Rabbit could scoop her up into a tight hug.

“Rabbit, I'd like you to meet someone. My daughter,” Julia said, as Rabbit's eyes went to the small bundle against her chest. Rabbit watched the newborn squirm in her mother's arms as the robot watched with awe.

“She's g-g-got your hair! Well, y-y-your natural hair, anyways,” Rabbit said, putting a copper finger to the baby's head and stroking the fine blonde hair that curled there. The baby cooed, grabbing the robot's finger as Julia laughed.

'Oh, Rabbit, I have something for you.” Julia said, handing the baby to her husband. From her bag, she pulled an old music box.

“Th-the music box I gave you...” Rabbit said, tilting her head.

“Yes, it is. I want you to take it.” Julia said, her smile seeming to wilt a bit as she pushed the music box into the robot's copper hands. “I would feel better if you had it, and knew you were keeping it safe,” she said.

Rabbit blinked, her mismatched photo-receptors searching Julia's face. “If you're s-sure,” she said after a moment. Julia hugged Rabbit tightly, whispering a think you into her ear, then she and her family were gone, lost in the crowd as Rabbit stood with the music box in-hand.

* * *

 

With shaking fingers and an oil-streaked face, Rabbit stumbled into the living room where The Spine and The Jon sat. They stood and took a few steps toward the copper automaton as a sound that resembled a sob tore from her throat. A piece of paper flutter from her fingertips, and The Spine picked it up as The Jon led Rabbit to a couch, where she sat and put her face in her hands.

The Spine's green eyes were wide as he read the letter that Rabbit had dropped.

“What's wrong?” The Jon asked, looking back and forth between his distressed siblings.

“Julia is... very ill.” The Spine said quietly. Rabbit made the sob-like noise again as The Jon let out a surprised hiss of steam.

“Is she... Will she be okay?” The Jon asked, his voice wavering.

The Spine sat next to The Jon. Slowly, he shook his head.

* * *

 

A few years later, nearly a year after Rabbit had stopped asking if Julia was in the audience at shows, Rabbit stood on stage, her brothers at her side as she sang. The bright stage lights bored into her head, the cheers a bit too shrill as the audience enjoyed the show. Rabbit gritted her teeth, closing her eyes and begging the set to be over sooner so she could get off the stage. Everything was too much and she could feel herself falling apart. As soon as the last note rang out and the crowd roared, she opened her eyes, ready to get herself offstage before the inevitable breakdown.

She stopped cold as her eyes met a pair of warm brown ones. Golden hair framed the small, freckled face. Rabbit felt her core thrum with surprise and elation.

“Julia,” she whispered, and Rabbit blinked away her surprise as the girl tilted her head and smiled.

All at once, the illusion was broken. She didn't know that little girl, and Julia was long gone. Bright stage lights chased Rabbit off stage as her hands shook and oily tears ran unchecked down her copper face.

Julia was gone.

* * *

 

The copper automaton stood in the middle of the stage, no brown eyes to keep her grounded and soften the harsh stage lights as words begin to fall from black-painted metal lips to a tune of a lullaby.

“ _I see her smile_  
it’s bright  
as the dawn’s break of light…”

 


End file.
